SYRACUSE, NY -- You've heard of the kid in the candy shop? How about the grown-up in the beer shop?

Today marks the partial opening of a different kind of beer joint in the Syracuse area: Now & Later, which bills itself as a "Tap Room" and a "Bottle Shop."

That means it's both a place to sit at the bar and have a draft or bottled beer, and a place to choose from among dozens of regional, national and international beers to take home via sixpacks, large format bottles, or growlers (draft).

"If you're a beer lover, this is for you," said owner Jason Purdy. "Have a beer now, take some home for later."

It opens from 2 p.m. to midnight today (Dec. 24) at 620 Ulster St., at the corner with Avery Avenue. It's the spot that since 1961 had housed Brilbeck's Corner Market, which Purdy bought from the Brilbeck family in 2013.

About 12 years ago, Brilbeck's had transformed itself from a typical corner store to one that became a craft and import beer destination. Purdy kept that format (including the legal obligation to keep 50 percent of the space devoted to non-alcohol items) until just before Thanksgiving. Then he shut down for major renovations.

He now has a tavern beer license, and with that he has converted more than half the space into the tap room, with bar and table seating for about 45 people (there will be an outdoor patio in the summer). It has ten draft taps and room for about 350 bottles in the cooler behind the bar.

The second part of the space will be a full-fledged beer retail store, with chilled and unchilled beers and a walk-in cooler. "In there 100 percent of the space is devoted to beer," Purdy said.

That part won't open until after New Year's, although for now you can buy single bottles or mixed sixpacks from the bar cooler.

Both the draft and bottled selections will feature lots of seasonals, specials and limited release or "one off" beers. Many of the beers are in 1/6 kegs, or sixtels, meaning they will rotate frequently.

Food in the tap room is also still a work-in-progress until the New Year. For the next few weeks, you'll find some house-made snacks, such as Candied Beer & Bacon Nuts, Fiery Crackers and Cheddar Cayenne Cheese Straws.

After that, the kitchen will begin rolling out an expanded pub menu, much of it made with beer and/or featuring bacon. Potential menu items include Beer Candied Bacon, Hummus with Chips, varying kinds of sliders, pork belly tacos, chicken or steak skewers, char-grilled wings, cheese and charcuterie plates, desserts and more.

Once both sides of Now & Later are open, Purdy envisions customers feeling free to move easily between the two.

"You can be drinking a beer, and decide to go take a look at what's available to take home," he said. "Drink your beer while shopping for beer."

Now & Later is open today, Christmas Eve, then closes on Christmas Day, and reopens for the weekend. Hours are still being worked out, but will likely be noon to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, and until 11 p.m. on Sundays, with earlier closing times on weekdays.

Don Cazentre writes about food, beverages, restaurants and bars for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact him by email, on Twitter, at Google+ or via Facebook.